Introduction
Racial issues in America began even before the continent had an internationally recognized country to support. Indigenous people discovered already living on the continent, possessing different skin tones and customs, were instantly labeled ‘savage’ and ‘uncivilized’ and thus placed on a significantly lower social level than the Europeans who were eagerly attempting to grab any form of material wealth they could discover. As a result of this instant impression, relations between the natives and the Europeans were never given a chance to truly flourish, eventually leading to the near genocide of the native race. Shortly after the arrival of the white man, black men and women were shipped in as slaves to provide the necessary labor for these white men to continue to gain profit. As slaves, black people were also placed at the bottom levels of the social hierarchy creating a situation in which white men ‘naturally’ looked upon tinted skin as analogous to social inferior. Whether that other was Native American, African or Arabian, what was truly important was that no other skin tone was capable of meeting the high social standards of the white man. That this is not a truly natural response can be found in those instances when white children are able to associate in close connection with black children, frequently identifying their friends by the clothing they wear or the things they do together rather than by the color of their skin. However, the problem of racial profiling continues within the adult generations, generation after generation. There are several reasons this may be the case, including alarming large-scale social experience, enforcement procedures, and media influence.
Profiling Defined
Driving While Black
The term ‘racial profiling’ is typically applied in the enforcement arena but can be equally applied in the social realm. Prior to the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001, most people associated the term ‘racial profiling’ with the common but often unspoken practice of police officers to stop and harass young black drivers in a much higher percentage than they did this same activity with drivers of other skin tones. African-Americans of all ages correctly complained that they were being disproportionately detained and asked non-pertinent questions by the police for nothing more than the ‘crime’ of ‘driving while black.’ The practice of racial profiling is officially illegal, but police officers continue to point to statistics that seem to support its use (Turvey, 1998). The concept of criminal profiling has actually been used to assist law enforcement in preventing crime as the habits and behaviors of individual criminals can be tracked and predicted as a means of achieving capture and neutralization. Offender profiles, a series of behavioral and personal characteristics related to specific offenses, are also analyzed as a means of assisting enforcement officials in recognizing specific behavior patterns that may lead to future crime. However, criminal profiling progresses to racial profiling when the defining characteristics used comprise ethnicity, religion, or race. Racial profiling occurs as officers begin to recognize a greater number of black people in prison than white, linking black people, particularly young males, with a higher prevalence of crime without taking into account the possibility that higher numbers may be simply a result of eagerness to arrest or other factors (Turvey, 1998).
Flying While Arab
Since 2001, a new form of racial profiling has emerged that could be simply described as ‘flying while Arab.’ An attention-getting case occurred in November of 2006 in an airport in Minneapolis. According to reports, a small gathering of Muslim men was praying prior to their plane’s departure (Frommer, 2007). Later events would reveal that these men were actually Muslim ministers who had just participated in a symposium and were on their return journey home. Their prayer, as they reported, included appeals for the safety of all passengers and crew as well as for a smooth and uneventful flight. However, their activity made other passengers nervous, themselves practicing a form of racial profiling in assuming that these men might be terrorists despite their openly different behavior, so the airline made the decision not to allow these men to board. Many cases have been reported where Arab or ‘Arab-looking’ Americans have been ordered to depart airplanes simply because their appearance was making some of the other passengers uneasy.
Right, Wrong, or Both?
Hypocritical Rationalizations
While racial profiling on the part of organizations and government agencies might ordinarily remain a tacitly ignored element of modern society, this type of profiling occurring in conjunction with the type of alarming large-scale social experience represented by the terrorist attacks enflames latent social stereotypes. The majority of adult American citizens living prior to September 11, 2001, would have agreed that discrimination on the basis of race is morally and ethically wrong and unjustifiable. In many cases, individuals hadn’t really considered just how they felt about the Muslim religion or the races of the Middle East. With some variation from slightly antagonistic to slightly supportive, Americans essentially considered themselves neutral regarding their impression of the Arab’s place in the social hierarchy. However, the events of that date shocked the nation out of its perceived immunity from danger and thus seemed to justify greater caution. Those who felt a greater sense of threat were more eager to sacrifice personal freedom and individual rights in the form of racial profiling if this could provide a stronger perception of protection. Had the terrorists not been of obvious Arab descent, the profiling of airplane passengers and the widespread fear of this particular ethnic group would not be a matter of discussion (Polakow-Suransky, 2005). After the Oklahoma City federal building was bombed in 1995, no efforts were made to vilify or racially profile young white men, yet almost every individual with Middle Eastern features that have been detained at airports, kicked-off airplanes, had their bags searched, or suffered ‘stare-downs’ with no provocation is not a terrorist any more than every white man is.
Stereotypical Generalizations
Discrimination, no matter how it can be rationalized, causes the victimization of minority groups who are frequently already subdued as a result of their minority. When used to guide the practices and policies of ‘official’ organizations such as the police or airport security, discrimination of a specific group can lead to malicious stereotyping. Generalizations are then applied unilaterally to the race, which causes significant issues when witnessed and duplicated by the public (Hall, 2004). Common decisions of everyday life regarding which candidate to hire, what people will be admitted nearly free of search compared to those whose every pocket will be invasively explored are based on the cultural attitudes that are set by enforcement agencies. For example, it is commonly assumed that black students will be unable to make the transition into college than white students, but actual scholastic comparisons indicate they are proportionately better prepared. If a person is physically beaten because they appear Arabic, that is termed racism, but when that same person is detained by security officers at the airport, it is called a necessary security measure. The change in terminology doesn’t make it right, nor do some elements of society succeed in making the distinction. Even those who do understand the difference between official action and unofficial harassment have a tendency to fall in line with the prevalent modes of thinking in which Arabs are considered suspicious characters regardless of the context (Hall, 2004). It can be argued that the generalization of persons based on stereotypical characteristics is sometimes necessary and can be rationalized based on statistics. For example, if an explosive device has been reported being carried by a person on a plane full of passengers when security officials board the plane looking for this person, they do not have time to consider the moral implications of stereotyping and generalizations. However, during less critical times, such as at the ticket counter or at check-in, the need to utilize profiling techniques simply is not as understandable yet are practiced and mimicked in numerous areas of life, including the gift shop cashier, the bus driver, the rental car agent, and the average fellow passenger.
Turning the Tide
While the average citizen might ordinarily avoid any overt acts of racial profiling, impactful events such as shattering the nation’s sense of security have changed public sentiment. Arabs would likely answer differently than whites regarding whether this action was taking place and thus might reasonably expect some support from the black community, who also frequently suffer from immediate suspicion and anger. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Black persons are no less likely than is any other ethnic group to judge others by racial origin or cultural affiliation. It seems the ability to recognize racial discrimination only exists when it is one’s own race being maltreated. According to Urban League President Hugh Price, “…whenever people speak in favor of racial profiling, they always favor its use against some other groups, not theirs” (cited in Polakow-Suransky, 2005: 202). Public surveys have continued to indicate widespread public support of racial profiling of Middle Eastern persons among the African American community. Only recently has the trend begun to abate thanks to the hard work of black political and religious leaders as well as numerous civil rights advocates. The strength of the sentiment among the black population is particularly surprising in that these people do not seem able to draw the parallels. “Many blacks still view all Muslims with the same mix of caution, distrust and hostility as many white Americans do” (cited in Polakow-Suransky, 2005: 203).
Conclusion
Although we’d like to believe we have outgrown the issues of race and gender in modern society, having discovered that there is no actual difference between the physical nature of a white man, red man, black man, or olive-skinned, the process of racial profiling on a personal and official level seems unlikely to go away. This is because our attitudes and lack of experience are reflected through the avenues of the media and thus become the viewpoint of the people. When situations such as 9/11 occur, in which a particular race can be blamed for a singular event or otherwise perceived as a social threat, as, in the case of the young black men of the city, the media continues to build on these notions, reinforcing them rather than attempting to defeat the inherent errors. Also reinforcing these beliefs are the official or unofficial but widely practiced policies of racial profiling, such as detaining a larger number of young black men as potential criminals or a large number of Middle Easterners as potential terrorists. When the public sees these kinds of behaviors in airports and on roadways, the latent beliefs gained through media presentation are fanned into life again, contributing to a vicious circle in which there are only two outcomes – either we spin into an authoritarian state in which a specific segment of the population is denied its fundamental human rights, or we awake to the madness and consciously work to put an end to it.
Works Cited
- Frommer, Frederic J. “Senator: Racial profiling ban is priority, but a foe warns against handing U.S. to terrorists.” Chicago Sun Times. (2007).
- Hall, C. Margaret. “Public Roots of Sociological Practice: Social Intelligence.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. San Francisco, CA: (2004).
- MacDonald, Heather. “The War on the Police … and How it Harms the War on Terrorism.” Supra. Vol. 7, I. 16, (2001).
- Polakow-Suransky. “Racial Profiling Goes Beyond Black and White.” What Matters in America. Gary Goshgarian (Ed.). New York: Longman, 2005, pp. 200-205.
- Turvey, B. “Deductive Criminal Profiling: Comparing Applied Methodologies Between Inductive and Deductive Criminal Profiling Techniques.” Knowledge Solutions Library. (1998).